The Florida Mayhem will hopefully be coming into this week with some confidence after their strong performances last week. And they will need it. Both the Defiant and the Valiant are teams on the cusp of the playoff bubble and will be fighting hard to ensure they take every win in the few weeks remaining of the regular season.
Match Details: Maps:
Florida Mayhem vs Toronto Defiant Ilios
Thursday, August 8th Hanamura
10:30 P.M. ET King’s Row
Havana
Florida Mayhem vs Los Angeles Valiant Ilios
Saturday, August 10th Temple of Anubis
6:30 P.M ET Hollywood Junkertown
These two teams were among the worst last stage. However, the 2-2-2 role lock has seemed to benefit both of these teams as they are playing much more competitively week to week. Toronto is the only team still playing for something in this match however, Florida showed last week they don’t mind throwing a wrench in the works for potential playoff bound teams.
The Toronto Defiant played two extremely close matches last week against the Shanghai Dragons and the Philadelphia Fusion. They were only able to come away with one win but they look leaps and bounds above where they were just a few short weeks ago. Their newly formed DPS lineup consisting of Andreas “Logix” Berghmans and Liam “Mangachu” Campbell went head to head against arguably one of the better DPS lineups in the League in the Dragons last week and came out on top. By beating last stage’s champions, the Defiant have really cemented themselves as a dangerous team this stage.
Photo: Ben Pursell For Blizzard Entertainment
The Florida Mayhem played matches against the Washington Justice and London Spitfire last week. By now everyone has heard of their remarkable victory over the reigning Overwatch League Champions, but it was in their 3-2 loss to the Justice that the Mayhem showed how far they have come.
The Justice was the first team to 4-0 the previously very dominant Vancouver Titans last week, and for the Mayhem to take the Justice to five maps is quite impressive. Lee “Gargoyle” Beom-jun is a player that needs to be on everyone’s radar. His Roadhog performances have been top-notch thus far and it’s expected to continue in the Mayhem’s very winnable two matches this week.
Should the Mayhem play with the same gusto as they did last week then they have a great chance to win here. The Mayhem has a little bit more firepower in their roster and will be helped this week by a team’s greatest power – a power that the Mayhem have been yet to wield this season – some confidence.
Florida Mayhem 3 -2 Toronto Defiant.
The Valiant have been just a tad disappointing to begin this stage. This team is being tested by teams much lower than them in many power rankings and lost to a Seoul Dynasty team that is currently experimenting with their roster. Despite that, they were one of the better teams last stage and can never be underestimated.
The Valiant went 1-1 last week losing to Seoul but claiming a victory over the Fuel later that week. The Fuel is currently one of the worst teams in the league, so it is of slight concern that they managed to take a map over the Valiant and play quite competitively in the series. Johannes “Shax” Nielsen has been unable to be as much of a difference-maker this stage as he was during the last stage because Sombra has been seeing less playtime. Again, the Valiant’s DPS strength is being questioned by Overwatch League fans. So it will be up to the one in-form DPS player on the team, Kyle “KSF” Frandanisa, to carry that burden.
Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
The Mayhem has been quite reluctant to play the Ana as much as other teams, instead opting for Zenyatta with Baptiste most of the time. Because of the fact that Gargoyle has been playing primarily Roadhog and not D.va, this match could be decided by how well Park “KariV” Young-seo plays on his Ana. An Ana pick into a team without a D.Va can be devastating. This is because Ana’s bionades can be tossed around without the fear of them being eaten by D.Va’s defence matrix. This is something Florida knows unfortunately all too well. Against the Washington Justice, the Mayhem was held on King’s Row for minutes at a time due to the enemy’s Ana and her devastating bionades.
The Valiant is a very well organised team. Much like the Toronto game, however, the Mayhem do have the advantage in the DPS match-up. If the Valiant can be as successful in the 2-2-2 meta as they were in the last stage then this should be a Valiant win. But this could be close.
Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 2 Florida Mayhem.
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